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| | Lollapalooza |
At least one phone theft crew made life miserable for partiers during yesterday’s opening of the annual Lollapalooza festival in Grant Park. Police refused to file incident reports at the scene. Victims were told to submit their report with an officer by dialing 311.
Because reports were not immediately filed, the number of victims is not known, but one cop on the scene said “a bunch” of phones had been stolen in a mosh pit while Elephante performed on Perry’s stage around 5:30 p.m.
Reports of phones being stolen came in regularly throughout the day. Toward the end of the day, one officer said that a Good Samaritan walked up to him and handed over eight phones that were found lying on the ground.
This crowd. @iamtheELEPHANTE
Day one of @lollapalooza already absolutely popping off at Perry’s ? pic.twitter.com/ii5xaNPlMH— Dancing Astronaut (@dancingastro) August 1, 2019
Some victims reported that a thief approached them to sell drugs for $20 as a ruse. He was described as a man who stood 6’1” tall and wore a red shirt with a snapback hat.
At least two other men and a woman were also suspected of being involved in the thefts.
The mini-crime wave resembles a similar crime pattern at Boystown’s Pride Fest celebration in June. At least 30 people reported losing their phones to thieves during the two-day street fair on Halsted Street. Many of them believed the thefts took place while they danced in a crowd.
